Success in life is found in having a meaningful mission and focusing your energy towards its completion.

The Church of Jesus has a meaningful mission. The Church’s success is in completing the mission.
Jesus himself gave us this mission. It is the great co-mission. It is the Church’s mission.

Is it your mission?

1st Century Church connecting with a 21st Century World Part 4: Mission

Sermon notes by Pastor Chris Fluitt

Redemption Church Plano Tx

Welcome to Redemption Church of Plano Tx. We are glad to have you with us today. A special greeting to all our online attendees. We love of podcast listeners and Youtubers.
My name is Chris Fluitt and I am blessed to serve as the lead pastor here at Redemption Church.
We are in the 4^th week of our mission and vision series.
Our Mission
Our Vision
A First Century Church connecting with a Twenty-first Century World
All about Jesus
Spiritual Transformation
Community

Today I want to tell you that a 1^st Century Church never loses sight of the mission.
Missional

Success in life is found in having a meaningful mission and focusing your energy towards its completion.

The Church of Acts, that Church in the 1^st century was focused on the Mission.
They were passionate about the mission.
They withstood trials and loss in order to fulfill the mission.
They left comfort and walked in discomfort in order to see this mission accomplished.
They risked ridicule. They risked imprisonment. They risked their lives.
They forsook other dreams in order to hold this mission as their highest dream.

Where did they get this mission? Who gave them this mission?
Jesus gave them the mission. After His crucifixion on the cross, and the burial in a tomb, and the resurrection on the 3^rd day… Jesus stayed with His disciples for 40 days. A resurrected Jesus spent 40 days preparing his disciples for a mission.
Do you know that a resurrected Jesus a resurrected Jesus will prepare you for your mission as well?
Before He ascended Jesus looked at His disciples and said…
Matthew 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,(NIV)
Matthew 28:20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”(NIV)
This scripture passage is known as the Great COmmission
Jesus gave the mission here. We call it a CO-mission because we are all in this mission together. In order to fulfill this mission we need to CO-operate. We share this mission together and we share this mission with the Lord Jesus. None of us can fulfill this mission alone.
Mathew 28:19 is known as the great commission, but did you know there are 4 other places in your Bible where Jesus shares with us the great commission?
I am going to teach you about our mission today.

In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus points out somethings for our mission.
Matthew 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,(NIV)
Go
Disciples (all nations)
Baptism
Matthew 28:20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”(NIV)
Teaching

Mark 16:15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.(NIV)
Go
Good News/Gospel (all nations)
Mark 16:16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.(NIV)
Belief
Baptism
Mark 16:17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;(NIV)
Jesus Name
Spirit Power
Mark 16:18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”(NIV)

Luke 24:47 repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.(NIV)
Repent/Sins Forgiven
Good News/Gospel
Jesus Name
(all nations)
Luke 24:48 You are witnesses of these things.(NIV)
Witness
Luke 24:49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”(NIV)
Spirit Power
John 20:21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”(NIV)
Sent/Go!
John 20:22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.(NIV)
Spirit Power
John 20:23 If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”(NIV)
Sin forgiven

Matthew Mark Luke John – Each of the 4 Gospels contains a different telling of the Great COmmission
There is another great commission passage found in Acts 1… This passage out to be familiar if you have been here this month. Acts 1:8 is our memory verse. You have it memorized?
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”(NIV)
Spirit Power
Witness
Go! (All Nations)

This is the mission of Jesus Christ. This is the Mission of the Church. This is your mission and mine as well.
GO, GOOD NEWS, DISCIPLE MAKING, BELIEF, REPENT, SIN FORGIVENESS, BAPTISM, JESUS NAME, SPIRIT POWER
Be careful not to diminish any part of this mission.
Be careful not to add anything to the mission.

Where is the first place the great commission is fulfilled?
Acts 2! Watch the great commission be fulfilled in scripture.
In verse 1 SPIRIT POWER ERUPTS. It causes everyone around to ask… what is this about? Are these people drunk.
The Peter gets up and says…
Acts 2:22 “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.(NIV)
Acts 2:23 This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.(NIV)
Acts 2:24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.(NIV)
Acts 2:32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.(NIV)
Acts 2:36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”(NIV)
Peter is witnessing… preaching… teaching the GOOD NEWS of Jesus.
Acts 2:37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”(NIV)
The people heard the message and BELIEVED! They asked what else do we need to do? Is there anything else we can do?
Acts 2:38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.(NIV)
Repent! Baptism! Sin forgiven! Jesus Name! Spirit Power!
Acts 2:39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off–for all whom the Lord our God will call.”(NIV)
All Nations

This is the great commission being fulfilled. This same pattern happens throughout the rest of the book of Acts. This pattern is what needs to happen here today!

The 1^st Century Church shared the Gospel wherever they were, no matter what they were doing.
Acts 3: Peter and John walking to the temple healed someone in Jesus name.
Acts 6: They shared the gospel with widows.
Acts 7: Stephen shared the gospel with those who would murder him.
Acts 8: Phillip fulfilled the great commission in Samaria. All believed, repented, baptized, and filled with Spirit Power.
Acts 9: Ananias shares the gospel with a Christian killer named Saul. Believed, Repented, Baptized, and filled with Spirit Power.
Acts 10: Peter fulfills the great commission in a Gentiles house. A non-Jew named Cornelius received the message of Jesus. He was filled with Spirit power and was baptized.
Acts 13-14: Paul & Barnabus plant the good news of Jesus in new cities and nations.
Acts 15: Some people tried to stir up contention by adding to the mission. They tried to say that one needed to be circumcised according to law in order to be saved. The apostles put a stop to this distraction and confusion. They got back to the mission and kept growing!
Acts 16: Paul and Silas are locked up in jail for bringing the mission to Ephesus. In a jail cell they begain to sing praise to God. God shook the prison and their chains fell off the jail cell doors flew open… BUT PAUL & SILAS did not make a prison break, they shared the Good news of Jesus with the Jailer. He believed, repented, baptized, spirit power.
Acts 17: Paul preaches Jesus to Athens Greece on Mars Hill.
Acts 18: In Corinth Paul takes a day job as a tent maker. He brought His mission to work with him and a man & wife named Aquilla & Priscilla were saved! Aquilla & Priscilla join the commission and share a more excellent way to a man named Apollos who carried that message even further.
Acts 19: Paul asked some disciples of John the Baptist if they had ever received the Spirit Power! He baptizes them in Jesus name and the Power of God came on them. They went on in the mission.
Acts 20: Paul teaches in Phillippi. He only had one night to be with them so He taught all night! While he is making disciples a man named Eutychus fell asleep and fell out of an upper story window and died. Paul reaches out a declares life back into Eutychus… Paul goes right back to teaching.
Acts 21: Paul is arrested while fulfilling His mission. But His mission did not stop.
Acts 22-26: He is in court and instead of offering a defense, he tells His testimony of How Jesus found Him in the desert. He was about the Mission! He presented Jesus to those in governors and kings.
Acts 27: Paul is being transported as a prisoner. He is shipwrecked yet even in the crisis proclaims Christ.
Acts 28: Paul is bitten by a poisonous snake. The locals stared at Paul waiting for him to fall over dead. But Paul did not die, he just kept fulfilling the great commission.
The last written chapter of the book of Acts ends in Chapter 28… It ends like this.
Acts 28:30 For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him.(NIV)
This was like a house arrest…
Acts 28:31 Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.(NIV)

The Church received the mission from Jesus. The apostles worked to fulfill the commission until their final breath.

Redemption Church is this our mission?
GO, GOOD NEWS, DISCIPLE MAKING, BELIEF, REPENT, SIN FORGIVENESS, BAPTISM, JESUS NAME, SPIRIT POWER
Are we focused on the mission?

Is this your mission?
Are you focused on the mission?